Machine for and method of making shoes



L. E. TOPHAM 1,931,563

MACHINE FOR AND METHOD OF MAKING SHOES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 24, 1933.

Filed Dec. 27, 1929 V o o o o o o 1-1." I8

26 A 0 32 8 N l n L I I! f I I I hvvmmm Oct. 24, 1933. 1 E, TOPHAM 1,931,563

MACHINE FOR AND METHOD OF MAKING SHOES Filed Dec. '27. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l atentecl Oct. 24- 1931;

wire MA PATENT Laurence E. Topham, Wenham, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N.'J., a corporation of New Jersey Application December 27, 1929 Serial No. 416,959

11 Claims. (Cl. 12-417) ihis invention relates to methods of and machines for making shoes. In its'machine aspect, the invention is herein illustrated as embodied in a treeing machine, and the novel method provided by the invention is, for purposes of illustration, set forth with special reference to its performance by the aid of a treeing machine of the illustrated type. 1 v

After the preceding making and finishing operations have been completed, it is the practice to perform a treeing operation upon a shoe, the shoe being mounted on the foot portion, ortree foot, of a tree leg and the upper being cleaned and ironed to impart to it the desired final finished appearance before it is packed for shipment. Treeing machines are commonly provided with pairs of tree legs, one for a right shoe and one for a left shoe and each expansible toincrease the length of the foot portion. of the tree leg so as slightly to stretch the shoe'and completely to force the portions of the tree foot into engage nient with the inside of the shoe.

An important disadvantage in the useoi tree-- iug machines as heretofore constructed results from the fact that the shoe is not treed upon the wood, that is, it is not treed while'it isinounte'd on the last on which it was made. Consequently even if the treeing machine is provided with a.

upper by the last are not fully retained and,

therefore, are not in the finished shoe exactly as intended by the designer of the shoe. Moreover,

the operators of treeing machines finddifiiculty' in applying a shoe to tree foot of the size and shape designed to be employed in the treeing of the given shoe and'in'removing the shoe from such a tree foot. As a consequencait is frequently found that an operator is using a tree foot forepart which is a size smaller than the one which would best fit the givenshoe. It may be that by so doing the operatoris enabled to make'fewer changes in tree feet'in a run of sizes and at any rate it facilitates the operation of getting the shoe on'and off the tree leg. On the other hand, when such undersize tree feet are used, the. treeing operation will be still less satisfactorily performed the finished shoe will depart still, further from the intended lines and appearance.

In view of the foregoing, an important object of the invention is to provide an improved method of making shoes which will avoid changing the character and lines established by the lasting and later making operations.

In the attainment of this object, the invention shoe, while the forepart of the shoe is mounted on a last forepart, and the treeing operation is performed while the last forepart still remains in the shoe.. To this end, the shoe is mounted on a separable last, for example, a separable last of the type disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,856,127, granted May 3, 1922, upon the application of G. P. S. Cross, such a last comprising separable fore and heel parts connected by bonding means and relatively constructed'and arranged to provide for convenient detachmentof the heel part of the last from the forepart and removal of the heel part from the shoe, without displacing the forepart of the last. After various making operations have been performed on the shoe, and if desired various finishing operations also, the heel part of the last is removed fromthe shoe without displacing the forepart of the last, a portion of a tree leg is inserted in the heel part of the shoe in place of the heel part of the last, the forepart of the last is attached to the tree leg while the forepart still remains in the shoe, and a treeing operation is performed on the shoe while the forepart of the last serves as a part of a tree form. Preferably, both the rear end and forepart of the shoe will be removed from the tree leg after the treeing operation While the forepart of the last remains attached to the tree leg.

Shoes made in accordance with my improved method will retain lines desired by the designer of the shoe because the forepart of the last is retained in the shoe during the whole of the making operations and until after the treeing operation. This method is also advantageous in that it reduces the cost of the equipment needed because part does not have vto be removed from the shoe by a separate operation after the treeing has been completed.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved treeing machine which may be utilized advantageously in carrying out the method of this invention. To this end and in accordance with a feature of the invention, the machine herein illustrated comprises a tree leg having a rear portion adapted to replace in a shoe the heel part of a separable last on which the shoe was made and a detachable forepart consisting of the forepart of that last, the forepart being constructed to provide both for convenient detachment from the heel part of the separable last while leaving the forepart undisplaced in the shoe and also for convenient attachment to the rear portion of the tree leg while the shoe is still mounted on the forepart. Thus va shoe from which the heel part of the last has. been removed may be mounted upon the treelegby attaching the undisplaced forepart within the shoe to the rear portion of the tree leg whereby the forepart may remain undisplaced in the shoe during the making and finishing operations and until after the shoe has been treed. As illustrated, the tree leg is provided with a secant surface adapted to engage a complemental surface extending rearwardly from the top of the last forepart, bonding means comprising members carried by the forepart and tree leg rear portion, respectively, being constructed and arranged for engagement or disengagement by relative sliding movement heightwise of the shoe.

Just as in treeing machines as heretofore commonly constructed the portion of the illustrated tree leg which is designed to fill the heel portion of the shoe and thereby to replace the removed heel portion of the last, is extensible, the part which carries the forepart being movable lengthwise of the tree foot to an extended position, thereby removing the heel part of the'shoe from the foot portion of the tree leg.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, in the illustrated machine the bonding means referred to is so organized that the forepart is locked to the tree leg while the leg is in extended condition and the shoe may be'readily removed from the forepart while the tree leg is thus extended. As illustrated, when the tree leg is extended an automatically operated locking pin prevents such movement of the forepart as is necessary to disengage it from the tree leg, and the tree leg is provided with a spring-operated bolt for holding the locking pin in looking position until the forepart has been retracted, whereupon the spring-operated bolt is brought into engagement with a portion of the tree leg, thereby releasing the locking pin. 7

These and other characteristics and features of the invention will now be set forth in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings,

' in Which Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the bench and operating mechanism of a treeing machine and showing a tree leg constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through a tree leg to which there has been applied a shoe containing the forepart of a separable last, said forepart being secured in looking engagement with the tree leg;

Fig 3 is a similar view after the tree leg has been expanded to fill the shoe;

Fig. 4 is a similar View after the tree leg has been collapsed and extended to permit the removal of the shoe;

Fig. 5 is an end view showing the secant face at the rear of the forepart of a separable last;

Fig. 6 is a side view of a portion of the tree leg which is mounted for movement to extend the leg; and

Fig. 7 is a View of the secant face on said portion.

The illustrated treeing machine, which sin-- bodies the present invention considered in one aspect and by which the improved method provided by this invention may advantageously be practised, is of the type illustrated in Letters Patent of the United States No. 4i2,03i, granted Dec. 2; 1890, upon application of A. B. Fowler, to which Letters Patent reference may be had for a description ,of parts of the machine not herein fully shown or described.

The illustrated machine comprises a bench 14: having an extensible standard 16 which carries a forwardly extending bearing plate 18 having a semi-circular upright flange 19 broken away at the front. This bearing plate is provided with a pivot stud 20 on which is rotatably mounted a turret 22 carrying two or more hollow arms 24 in which are supported two tree legs 26, set, for convenience, somewhat less than 93 degrees apart. A latch 28 operable by means of a treadle 29 holds the turret in operating position or, when released,

Car

allows it to be turned to carry one tree leg into inoperative position and bring the other into operative position.

Each tree leg 26 comprises a foot portion which is expansible and extensible and comprises a rear portion made up of a heel part 30 and a forward part 32. Provision is made for moving the heel part 30 lengthwise of the shoe to ex-' pand the tree foot and for moving the forward part 32 heightwise of the tree foot to extend? T heel part of the last on which the shoe was made. The heel part 30 is detachably mounted upon the tree leg by means of a spring-pressed latching collar 34 so that differently-sized heel parts may be substituted for one another. Provision is made, in a manner to be described, for

expanding the tree through an operating rod 36 having acam face 37. This rod extends the full length of the tree leg and is normally held in a position in which the leg is contracted by means of a spring 38 against the tension of which the rod may be drawn out, to expand the tree, by the operation of atreadle so. For this purpose, the rod 36 has an extension 42 on which are two collars 43 and i l pressed apart by a stiff spring 45 and held on the rod by a hand wheel 46. The collar 43 which isv loose on the extension 42, has a depending roll l7 adapted to be engaged by a plunger 48 which is guided in a bracket secured to the bearing plate 18, said plunger serving to transmit to the expanding rod l leg. After the treeing operation, the turret 22 15* may be swung to bring another leg into operative position. While the shoe just treated is drying, the expansion of the leg on which that shoe is mounted is maintained by engagementof the roll l? with the inner face of the flange 19 on the bearing plate 18.

The treadle effected movement of the rod 36 above referred to causes expansion of the tree foot through mechanism provided within the tree leg, said mechanism being of the type illustrated (i i i the larger opening in the last just above the nar' in Letters Patent No. 319,355). andNo. 319,356, granted June 2, 1885 on applications of A. D. Tyler, Jr., to which reference may be had for a more complete description of parts not fully shown or described herein. In general, the arrangement is such that movement of the operating rod 36 to the right as shown in the drawings serves to rotate a pivoted cam to move the 1 heel part 30 about its pivot 52, thus expanding cross bar is set into a hook-shaped notch in said slide, as shown in Fig. 2, and a rib on the slide enters the groove in said block 54. Disengagement of the block from the slide is prevented by a spring-pressed latch 59 which prevents relative movement heightwise of the shoe and holds the cross bar 56 in the notch of the slide. The slide 58 is hooked at its upper end, when in contracted position, the hooked end is engaged by a spring-pressed latch 60 in. the tree leg. When the treadle of the machine has been released so that the operating rod 36 is in the position shown in Fig. 2, a portion of the cam 37 overlies a hump on said latch 60 and disengages it from the hook at the upper end of the slide 58. When the treadle is depressed and the operating rod 36 is moved to the right to the position shown in Fig.

3, a portion of the cam 3'7 engages a tail upon the latch 60 and assists the spring of said latch to throw the latter into engagement with the hook on the slide 58 so that extension of the leg is prevented. In other words, extension of the tree leg to the position illustrated in Fig. 4 is possible whenever the 'treadle is released but cannot be effected when the tree foot is in expandedv condition, as shown in Fig. 3.

The forepart portion 10 of the illustrated tree foot consists of the forepart of a separable last of the type described in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,856,127, granted upon the application of G. P. S. Cross, to which reference has been made above. In order to provide for convenient removal from the shoe of the heel part of the last while leaving the forepart undisplaced in the shoe, it is desirable that the last should shorten rapidly from the beginning of the heel-part removing movement. Accordingly, the

last forepart 10, like that disclosed in the patent referred to, has a secant face 62 which extends from the top of the forepart rearwardly toward the bottom of the forepart. This face is recessed for the reception of a plate 64 forming part of interengaging bonding means constructed and arranged to connect the last forepart detachably with the heel part of the last end, after the last 'heel-part'has been removed from the shoe, with the block 54 of the rear portion of the tree leg. The plate 64 is countersunk at its lower end to form a depression 6'7 which is bottomed by the head of a screw 65 utilized for holding the plate in the forepart of the last. The upper end of the plate 64 is bent back upon itself in a deepened portion of the recess in the face 62, as best shown in Fig. 2, and secured to the last by a screw 69 (Fig. 5), said bent back portion being cut away to form a slot 70 which is. in effect, a part of a keyhole slot because of row parallel sides of theslot in the plate.

The block 54 of the tree leg has a coacting' face 71 cut at an angle with respect to the 1ongitudinal axis of the tree foot which angle is similar to the angle of the secant face 62 of the forepart of the last and is relieved slightly at.

73 to form a small V between the two so as to permit a rocking movement of the forepart of the last about a transverse horizontal axis extending from side to side of the last. The block 54 is also provided with bonding means coacting with the forepart 10 to support and lock it on the tree leg. These bonding means comprise a headed stud 68 which is part of a crossplate secured to said block by screws and a projection 72 of a size to enter the straight part of the keyhole slot 70. Near its lower end the block 54 has a boss 74 also formed on a cross plate secured to the block 54 by screws, this boss '74 forming another part of the bonding means and being of a size and position to enter the depression 67 in the f orepart of the last.

' The forepart '10 and the block 54 can be attached together by entering the headed stud 68 in the upper end of the keyhole slot '70 and moving the parts heightwise of the last until the projection '72 seats in the lower end of the keyhole slot and the boss 74 enters the depression It should be noted that the projection 72 corresponds in position to a latch (not shown) which is employed in the heel part of a last of the type disclosed in the above-mentioned Cross patent and which assists in locking said parts together partly by engagement with the bottom of the keyhole slot. Disengagement of the parts 19 and 54 when the tree leg is extended is positively pr vented by another part of the bonding means comprising a locking pin or abutment 66 slidably mounted in the block 54, as shown in Fig. 6, the pin 66 having an inclined rear end for engagement with inclined face or wedgesurface on a sliding bolt '76. This bolt is pressed outwardly by a spring 78 concealed within the forepart its movement is limited by a pin 86 which enters a slot in said bolt. A similar pin and slot limit the movement of the locking pin 66. When a shoe having in it a last forepart 10 on'which it was made is being applied to the tree leg, the bolt 76 is depressed by manual engagement with the exposed end of said bolt so as to permit rocking movement between the last forepart l6 and the block 54 sufiicient to allow depression 67 in said last forepart to slide over the boss'74 on the block 54.

With the arrangement above described the last forepart 10 is securely locked to the block 54 whenever the tree leg is in the extended position shown in Fig. 4. Accordingly, after the completion of the treeing operation, the tree leg having been extended, thereby removing the heel part of the shoe from the tree foot portion of the tree leg as shown in Fig. 4, further relative movement of the shoe and tree leg to completerernoval of the shoe from the machine separates the last forepart and shoe, thus eliminating the need of any separate operation to pull the last ferepart from the shoe.

In the practice of the method of this invention as herein set forth, various making operations, T

such as the assembling, pul1ingover and lasting operations and-in the case of a welt shoe, the welting, sole-laying and outsole-stitching opera tions, are performed on a shoe while it is mounted on a separable last, such as a separable last of ll ll rt. n

the type referred to. Whenever it is considered expedient with reference to the practice in the particular factory and with regard to the type of shoe bein made, the heel part of the last is detached from the forepart and removed from the shoe. To this end a suitable tool is inserted in the thimble of the last to release a latch (not shown) contained therein and the heel piece is tilted on an axis extending transversely of .the' shoe so that a boss or projection on the heel piece of the last is raised outof the depression 6'? of the forepart thereof. After this the heel part of the last may be lifted out of the shoe by a sliding movement heightwise of the shoe, during which a screw head on the ieel part will slide out of the keyhole slot 7-9 of the forepart. The removal of the heel part of the last may beeflected with facility without displacing the forepart of the last and without causing distortion of the shoe upper.

After all the operations which precede the treeing operation have been performed, including the making operations and various finishing operations, the treeing operation is performed upon the shoe while the forepart of the last still remains undisturbed in the shoe, the last forepart serving as a part of a tree for l.

In the use of the illustrated machine for performing the trceing operation, assuming that, the

tree leg has been provided with a heel part so and a block each of which has been selected with reference to the size of the shoe to be treed and is shaped to fit either a right or a left shoe, as the case may be, and assuming that the tree leg has,

been extended so that the block projects beyond the heel part 30, the operator first mounts the heel part of the shoe on the extended portion of the tree leg, and secures the last forepart 10 in the shoe to the block 54 by means of the bonding means already described, the bolt 76 being depressed by manual engagement with the projecting upper end so that the locking pin is released, and slides the headed stud 68 into the slot 70. To accomplish this it is necessary that the last forepart 19 shall be slightly tilted with respect to the block 54 in order that the recess 67 may override the boss '74. A continued movement of the forepart heightwise of the shoe brings the bonding means into complete engagement and, as soon as the operator releases the bolt 76 the last will be locked against detachment from the tree leg. The shoe and forepart together with the slide 58 are then moved heightwise of the shoe to shorten the tree leg and to insert the heel part in the shoe. The treeing machine is then operated in the usual manner to expand the shoe and the upper is cleaned and ironed. When it is desired to release the shoe the treadle which has, been held down by a ratchet (not shown) is released, thus allowing the spring 38 in the tree leg to contract the tree foot lengthwise of the shoe after which the leg may be again extended heightwise of the shoe and t1 e shoe removed from the treeing machine leaving the forepart 10 of the last secured to the machine. The last forepart can be removed from the machine by collapsing the leg, tilting the last and sliding the headed stud 68 out of the slot '70.

It will be apparent that, as has been hereinbefore stated, by performing the treeing operation while the shoe is mounted on the last forepart upon which it was made and which has remained without displacement in the shoe throughout the making and finishing operations, the shoe upper of the filllShSd shoe may be made to conform exactly to the last, thereby preserving the character and lines intended by the designer. In this connection, it will be evident that the very last forepart upon which the shoe was made is the ideal forepart tree foot member because it completely fills and fits the corresponding part of the shoe and in the ironing of the corresponding part of the shoe upper serves to perfect rather than to detract from the desired shape of the shoe upper, as distinguished from treeing the shoe upon a forepart filler or form, which at best will not fit the shoe perfectly and is likely not even to be the one intended to be used.

Having thus described my invention, what I;

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a treeing machine, an extensible tree leg having a sectional tree foot comprising a rear portion adapted'to replace the heel part ofa separable last on which the shoe was made and a detachable portion consisting of the forepart of said last, and bonding means for connecting said rear portion andsaid detachable forepart portion and associated with said portions respectively, said forepart and the associated part of said bonding means being constructed and arranged to provide both for detachable engagement of the forepart portion with the heel part .of said separable last in such a manner as to allow removal of. the heel part of the last from the shoe while leaving the foreport undisplaced in the shoe,and also convenient attachment of said forepart to said rear portion of the tree foot while the shoe is still "iounted on said forepart, said bonding means being also constructed and arranged to lock said forepart to the tree leg in an extended relation while shoe is withdrawn therefrom, whereby said fore-part may remain undisplaced in the shoe during the making and the treeing operations and removal of the shoe from the tree leg also separates the shoe and said forepart.

2. In a treeing machine, a tree leg having a tree foot comprising a rear portion adapted to replace the heel part of a separable last upon which the shoe was made, said rear portion having an angularly disposed surface extending from its top rearwardly toward the bottom of said rear portion, and a detachable portion consisting of the forepart of said separable last and having a complemental surface extending from the top of said forepart rearwardly toward the bottom of the forepart, and slidably rear portion and said forepart upon sliding movement of one of said surfaces along the other, said bonding means being constructed and arranged to provideboth for detachable engagement of the forepart with the heel part of said separable interengaging bonding means upon said surfaces for connecting said last, thereby allowing removal of the heel part of r the last from the shoe by a reversal of said sliding movement thereby to shorten the last while leav having a rear section adapted to replace the heel part of a separable last on which the shoe was made, said rear section comprising parts which are relatively movable heightwiserof the. tree foot to extend the tree foot and said tree foot also having a detachable section consisting of the forepart of said last and joining said rear section along a secant surface extending from the top of said forepart rearwardly toward its bottom, and interengaging bonding members on said rear section of the tree foot and on the detachable section of the tree foot constructed and arranged to be moved into engagement by a sliding movement heightwise of the foot and to prevent disengagement of said forepart from said rear section while the tree foot is extended, whereby said forepart may remain undisplaced in the shoe during the makin and the treeing operations and be securely held upon the extended tree foot to permit removal of the shoe from the forepart of the tree foot.

4. In a treeing machine, an extensible tree foot having a detachable forepart and a rear portion comprising parts which are relatively movable heightwise of the tree foot to extend the tree leg, said forepart joining said rear portion along a secant surface extending from the top of the tree foot rearwardly toward the bottom of the tree foot, and interengaging members carried by said rear portion and said forepart respectively and constructed and arranged to prevent disengage-, ment of said forepart from said rear portion while the tree leg is extended, whereby the forepart may be securely held upon the extended tree foot to permit removal of the shoe from the tree foot.

5. A tree leg having a rear portion comprising parts relatively movable to extend the tree leg, a forepart portion, and interengaging bonding means for detachably connecting said forepart portion to the tree leg, said bonding means com prising locking means to maintain the interengagement of the forepart portion with the treeleg when the tree leg is extended and hence toprevent detachment of said forepart, thereby fa-.

cilitating removal of the shoe from the forepart,

and said bonding means being constructed and matically operated locking pin constructed andarranged to prevent such tilting movement except when the tree leg is contracted. v

7. A tree leg having a foot portion comprising members relatively movable to extend the tree leg and a forepart detachable upon sliding movement of the forepart along a secant surface extending from the top of the foot portion rearwardly toward the bottom of the foot portion, means for preventing said sliding movement except when the forepart is tilted with respect to the remainder of said foot portion, an autoinati cally operated locking pin constructed and arranged to prevent such tilting movement except when the tree leg is contracted, and means operable upon contraction of the tree leg to release said locking pin, whereby the forepart is securely locked to the tree leg to permit convenient removal of a shoe from said forepart whenthe tree leg is extended and may be removed from the tree leg when the tree leg is contracted.

8. In a treeing machine, a tree leg having a divided foot portion comprising a forepart detachably secured to the tree leg by interengaging bonding members, a sliding pin constructed and arranged to prevent detachment of said forepart, and a spring operated wedge for locking said sliding pin.

9. In a treeing machine, a tree leg having a divided foot portion comprising a forepart detachably secured to the tree leg by interengaging bonding members constructed and arranged to be brought into coacting engagement by sliding movement heightwise of the shoe and tilting movement about a transverse axis, a slidably mounted abutment adapted to project from a portion of the tree leg with which said forepart is engaged to prevent said tilting movement, and a spring operated bolt for holding said abutment in projecting position.

10. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in performing making operations upon a shoe while it is mounted on a separable last, removing the heel part of the last from the shoe while the forepart of thelast remains in the shoe and without changing the position of the forepart of the last with respect to the shoe, inserting a portion of a tree leg in the heel part of the shoe and attaching theforepart.

of the last to said portion of the tree leg while lee ill)

the forepart of the last still remains in the shoe,

and performing a treeing operation on'the shoe while, the forepart of the last serves as a part of a tree form. I

11. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in performing making operations upon a shoe while it is mounted on a separable last, removing the heel part of the last from the shoe while the forepart of the last remains undisturbed in the shoe and without displacing the forepart of the last with respect to the shoe, inserting a portion of a tree leg in the heel part of the shoe and attaching the forepart of the last to said tree leg while the forepart of the last still remains in the shoe, performing a treeing operation on the shoe while the forepart of the last serves as a part of a tree form, removing the shoe from both the rear section of said tree leg and the forepart of the last while the forepart of the last remains locked to the said tree leg, and subsequently detaching the forepart of the last from the tree leg.

LAURENCE E. TOPI-IAM. 

